More Like this

1. Reprogramming of sorghum proteome in response to sugarcane aphid infestation

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2022.111289  

   Grover, Sajjan; Cardona, Juan Betancurt; Zogli, Prince; Alvarez, Sophie; Naldrett, Michael J.; Sattler, Scott E.; Louis, Joe (July 2022, Plant Science)
2. Invasive sorghum aphid: A decade of research on deciphering plant resistance mechanisms and novel approaches in breeding for sorghum resistance to aphids

   https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21301  

   Thudi, Mahendar; Reddy, M_S Sai; Naik, Yogesh Dashrath; Cheruku, Varun_Kumar Reddy; Sangireddy, Manoj_Kumar Reddy; Cuevas, Hugo E; Knoll, Joseph E; Louis, Joe; Kousik, Chandrasekar S; Toews, Michael D; et al (July 2024, Crop Science)

   Abstract During the last decade, the sorghum aphid (Melanaphis sorghi), previously identified as sugarcane aphid (Melanaphis sacchari), became a serious pest of sorghum, spreading to all sorghum‐producing regions in the United States, Mexico, and South America, where crop losses of 50%–100% have been reported. Developing sorghum cultivars with resistance to this insect is the most sustainable strategy for long‐term pest management. To design cultivars with aphid resistance, comprehensively understanding the mechanisms underlying aphid survival, host plant resistance, and aphid–sorghum interactions is critical. In this review, we summarize the comprehensive efforts to characterize the aphid populations as well as their interaction with sorghum plants via hormonal pathways that trigger various genes including leucine rich repeats, WRKY transcription factors, lipoxygenases, calmodulins, and others. We discuss efforts made during the last decade to identify specific genomic regions and candidate genes that confer aphid resistance, as well as describe recent successes and potential challenges in breeding for aphid resistance. Furthermore, we discuss the use of disruptive technologies like high‐throughput phenotyping, artificial intelligence, or machine learning for developing aphid resistant sorghum cultivars. Integration of these new technologies has the potential to accelerate the development and design of novel traits that confer durable aphid resistance in new sorghum cultivars to defend sorghum against new aphid genotype development. 

   more » « less
3. Sugars and cuticular waxes impact sugarcane aphid (Melanaphis sacchari) colonization on different developmental stages of sorghum

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2023.111646  

   Cardona, Juan Betancurt; Grover, Sajjan; Bowman, Michael J.; Busta, Lucas; Kundu, Pritha; Koch, Kyle G.; Sarath, Gautam; Sattler, Scott E.; Louis, Joe (May 2023, Plant Science)
4. Monocot crop–aphid interactions: plant resilience and aphid adaptation

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2023.101038  

   Mou, De-Fen; Kundu, Pritha; Pingault, Lise; Puri, Heena; Shinde, Sanket; Louis, Joe (June 2023, Current Opinion in Insect Science)
5. Dopamine mediates the pea aphid wing plasticity

   https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0024  

   Liu, Xiaomi; Brisson, Jennifer A. (May 2023, Biology Letters)

   Many organisms exhibit phenotypic plasticity, in which developmental processes result in different phenotypes depending on their environmental context. Here we focus on the molecular mechanisms underlying that environmental response. Pea aphids ( Acyrthosiphon pisum ) exhibit a wing dimorphism, in which pea aphid mothers produce winged or wingless daughters when exposed to a crowded or low-density environment, respectively. We investigated the role of dopamine in mediating this wing plasticity, motivated by a previous study that found higher dopamine titres in wingless- versus winged-producing aphid mothers. In this study, we found that manipulating dopamine levels in aphid mothers affected the numbers of winged offspring they produced. Specifically, asexual female adults injected with a dopamine agonist produced a lower percentage of winged offspring, while asexual females injected with a dopamine antagonist produced a higher percentage of winged offspring, matching expectations based on the titre difference. We also found that genes involved in dopamine synthesis, degradation and signalling were not differentially expressed between wingless- and winged-producing aphids. This result indicates that titre regulation possibly happens in a non-transcriptional manner or that sampling of additional timepoints or tissues is necessary. Overall, our work emphasizes that dopamine is an important component of how organisms process information about their environments. 

   more » « less